How Far Would You Go to Protect Someone You Love? - The New York Times

And whom would you trust along the way? These questions are the foundation of Caitlin Wahrer’s suspense novel, “The Damage.”

Welcome to Group Text, a monthly column for readers and book clubs about the novels, memoirs and short-story collections that make you want to talk, ask questions and dwell in another world for a little bit longer.

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A close-knit Maine clan circles the wagons (and a Subaru) after a loved one is brutally attacked by a stranger who tells a different story about what happened.

I love dark stories that let in a little bit of daylight, and this is one of them. Wahrer’s characters are going through hell but still manage to be human and worth getting to know.

When I finished THE DAMAGE (Pamela Dorman/Viking, 400 pp., $27), I immediately searched for other books by Caitlin Wahrer. There aren’t any; this crushing yet strangely uplifting and assured novel is her debut. Wahrer is the authorial equivalent of a friend who doles out devastating news while stroking your hand and complimenting your haircut. The reality of the wallop she delivers won’t sink in until you’re alone with your thoughts — and, thanks to this book, your worst fears.

“The Damage” hinges on a blow to the head. In October 2015, Nick Hall, “a junior in good standing at the University of Maine, Salisbury,” goes to Jimmy’s, a local dive bar, to meet a guy he’s interested in who turns out to be a no-show. As Nick is ordering a round of tequila shots for friends, he strikes up a flirtation with an “uncomfortably handsome” stranger who introduces himself as Josh. The next morning, Nick wakes up alone in a seedy motel room, beaten and lying on bloody sheets.

We learn what happens next — and about Nick’s fractured, tumultuous childhood — from the perspectives of his older half brother, Tony; his sister-in-law, Julia, who is a defense lawyer; John Rice, the detective who works on the case; and from Nick himself. The action toggles between 2015 and 2019, when a terminally ill John invites Julia for a final conversation about what happened in the fallout from the attack. We won’t learn the real reason for their post-mortem until the end of the book; all is revealed in a head-spinning, Agatha Christie-style wrap-up. (I don’t care how good you are at predicting the outcome on “Law and Order.” You won’t predict this one.) In the meantime, Nick is the least lively of the four characters, but this is understandable because we’re meeting him at a low point in his life. John and Julia establish themselves as the undisputed bosses, moving effortlessly and commandingly across the pages like the professionals they (mostly) are.

Wahrer’s story barrels along on two tracks — one where the Halls’ worst nightmare comes true, complete with evidence, interrogations and court dates; and the other where regular life marches on, as life has a funny way of doing. Nick goes to class and hangs out with his roommates; Tony and Julia’s son sneaks cookies for breakfast; the family plans a Thanksgiving feast with a handmade place card for each guest. You can see the concentration on the face of the little girl doing the lettering; you can hear the squeal of the Halls’ shopping cart as they race through the produce section of Shop ’n Save. These quotidian moments are as important as the bigger, more colorful pieces of Wahrer’s puzzle. Actually, they’re the glue.

But back to the suspenseful stuff: Nick’s attacker has a different memory of that night at the Motel 4 Deluxe. He goes public with his side of the story just as word of Nick’s identity begins to leak out on campus, and local pundits are revving up for nonstop coverage. It’s the perfect story, with a male victim, a cogent rebuttal and a high-profile lawyer. Tony’s protective big brotherly rage begins to boil over. He knows where the man formerly known as Josh lives, and Julia knows what her husband is capable of. Nick just wants the nightmare to be over.

Wahrer puts us on a runaway train to a place I did not plan to go, accompanied by an engineer I did not expect to find at the wheel. Then, just as I thought we were arriving at our destination, someone placed a shiny penny on the track. As my grandfather used to say, hold on to your hat.

Discussion Questions

The final section of the book opens with a quote from “The Poisonwood Bible,” by Barbara Kingsolver: “Don’t try to make life a mathematics problem with yourself in the center and everything coming out equal. When you’re good, bad things can still happen. And when you’re bad, you can still be lucky.” Why do you think Wahrer chose these lines?
How did your understanding of the collateral costs of damage change from the beginning to the end of this book?